Candidates announced for the May election

Four candidates have put their names forward to stand for the Orkney constituency in the Scottish Parliament Election in May.

The deadline for nominations for the poll closed at 16:00 this afternoon (Wednesday 31 March).

The candidates whose names will appear on the ballot paper are:

• Samuel Bown - Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.
• Coilla Drake - Scottish Labour Party.
• Robert Fraser Leslie - Scottish National Party (SNP).
• Liam Scott McArthur - Scottish Liberal Democrats.

The election will be held on Thursday 6 May.

Voters will have two votes. One is to elect an MSP to represent the Orkney Constituency. The other is to elect regional representatives from a list of political parties and individual candidates.

Everyone in Scotland is represented by eight MSPs, one for their constituency (e.g. Orkney) and seven for the larger region in which they live (e.g. Highlands and Islands).

Further information about the election can be found here.